The Advocate. October 23, 2023.
Editorial: Audit lifts voices of special education parents
Not one line of the Louisiana Legislative auditor’s recent report on the Department of Education’s special education complaint system is shocking to parents of special needs kids. But the audit is important because, finally, there is documentation of issues parents say the state has long tried to ignore.
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires districts to make certain accommodations for students with disabilities. When parents feel the districts are not doing this, the state complaint system is supposed to be a vehicle to address their concerns.
But for years, parents of students with disabilities in Louisiana have found a system designed to stymie, sideline, frustrate and ultimately silence them.
Jodi Rollins and Kathleen Cannino are two moms of children with special needs who persevered even though they knew the deck was stacked against them. When they started advocating on behalf of others, they kept hearing the same things — complaints that were not followed up on and districts not being held accountable. They started agitating with a state legislator to find out what exactly was going on.
Rollins, who lives in Prairieville, ran an unsuccessful campaign for BESE this year, largely as a platform to address special education. Cannino, who lives in Covington, led a successful campaign to get the Legislature to back cameras in special education classrooms. So the audit was launched, “maybe to appease us,” Cannino said.
Here are a few of the highlights:
— Of the 103 complaints logged in the 2020-21 school year, 61 were investigated.
— The other 42 were set aside, often for minor issues like the complaint lacking a parent’s signature.
— Of complaints investigated, only seven resulted in findings against the school system.
But Rollins and Cannino point to other things in the report, most importantly, the state admitting that it doesn’t routinely interview the parent who files a complaint, but does contact school districts to get their side.
Meredith Jordan, executive director of Diverse Learners at LDOE, rightly points out that the audit doesn’t find the state out of compliance with federal regulations. But it would be wrong to let that drown out parents’ voices.
Jordan said parents will see improvements soon, including a state ombudsman for special education and an additional investigator to follow up on complaints.
We welcome these changes but fear they could be mere window dressing if the department doesn’t fundamentally change how it sees its role, becoming responsive and proactive in making sure special education lives up to its promise.
Two more audits are on deck — one looking at how the state monitors district compliance with the IDEA and another on the use of restraints.
We hope these audits will be a turning point in how Louisiana treats its special needs students, and the parents who are fighting for them.
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